Shoe and method of making the same



Oct. 10, 1944. J ND 2,359,896

SHOE AND METHOD OF MAKING SAME Filed Oct. 20, 1943 2 Sheets-Sheet 1 [n ven zor films; Dane Chandler Oct. 10, 1944. J CHANDLER I 2,359,896

SHQE AND METHOD OF MAKING SAME Filed 001;. 20, 1943 2 Sheets-Sheet 2 [n ven zor JZzmes Dane Chandler Patented Oct. 10, 1944 UNITED STATES PATENT OFFICE SHOE AND METHOD or MAKING THE SAME James Dane Chandler, Swampscott, Mass, as-

signor to United Shoe Machinery Corporation, Flemington, N. J., a corporation of New Jersey Application October 20, 1943, Serial No. 506,956

10 Claims. (01. 36-19.5)

This invention relates to improvements in shoes and to improved methods of making shoes.

The invention is more especially concerned with the manufacture of shoes known to the trade as platform shoes, such shoes being characterized by having an edge covered platform sole between the outsole and the upper.

Objects of the invention are to improve the construction and mode of manufacture of platform shoes, to provide platform shoes of novel and distinctive appearance, and to effect sub stantial savings in the cost of manufacture of such shoes.

With these objects in view and in accordance with my invention, as herein illustrated, I have provided a shoe having in its forepart the distinguishing characteristics of a conventional platform shoe. A high arch is formed in the shank portion of the shoe bottom and improved features of construction in this locality impart a novel and distinctive appearance to the shoe and result in substantially reducing its cost of manufacture. The illustrated shoe has a full length platform sole but the edge of the sole is covered to produce a platform effect only in the forepart of the shoe. In the shank portion of the shoe lateral extensions of the upper extend downwardly over the edges of the platform sole without the formation of any crease 'or line of demarcation between the upper and the sole and are turned inwardly so as to provide a covering for the entire lower surface of the shank of the sole and this covering is left exposed to view in the finished shoe by the employment of a short or half length outsole which terminates rearwardly substantially at the rear extremity of the forepart of the shoe. A conventional heel of substantial height is attached to the rear portion of the sole to complete the shoe.

In making. the shoe the upper is cut to size plus only a narrow seam allowance in its forepart and plus marginal extensions of substantial width at opposite sides of its shank or'waist portion and a forepart sock lining or innersole member is cut to last bottom size plus only a narrow seam allowance. This sock lining, together with a wrapping strip for the forepart of the platform sole, is stitched to the upper,- off the last, and, while these parts are still unsupported by a last, the free edges of the upper extensions are brought together and united by a seam and the platform sole is assembled with the upper by thrusting the heel end of the sole rearwardly between the rear edge of the forepart sock lining and the forward edge of the shank covering formed by the closed upper extension. A last is then slipped into the shoe and after the platform sole has been properly positioned it is secured to the sock lining and the shank covering by means of cement previously applied to those parts. The wrapping strip is then folded over the edge and overlapped upon the lower side of the platform sole and secured thereto by means of cement. Thereafter a. short outsole is attached by cement to the forepart of the platform sole and a heel is attached to the rear part of the sole. The shoe is-completed by the attachment of a rear part sock lining so as to cover the heel and shank portions ofthe inside of the shoe bottom and overlap the rear margin of the forepart sock lining.

The invention will be explained with reference to the accompanying drawings, in which Fig, 1 is a plan view of the upper of my improved shoe;

Fig. 2 is a perspective view of the upper, the forepart .sock lining and the forepart platform wrapper as they appear after having been assembled and stitched together off the last;

Fig. 3 is a perspective view of the rear part sock lining which is inserted after the shoe has been otherwise completed;

Fig. 4 is a sectional view taken along the line IV-IV of Fig. 2;

Fig. 5 is a sectional view taken along the line VV of Fig. 2 looking in the direction of the arrows but showing the extensions of the upper as they appear after their lower edges have been united to form a covering for the shank portion of the platform sole;

Fig. 6 is a perspective view of the platform sole unit;

Fig. '7 is a bottom view of the shoe as it appears before the outsole and the heel have been attached;

Fig. 8 is a view in side elevation of the completed shoe;

Fig. 9 is a bottom view of the completed shoe;

Fig. 10 is a fragmentary cr ss-sectional view taken along the line XX of Fig. 8; and

Fig. 11 is a fragmentary cross-sectional view taken along the line IGI-XI of Fig. 8.

Referring to the drawings, my invention is therein illustrated in its'application to the manufacture of a womans high arch shoe which has the characteristic appearance of a platform shoe only in its forepart. This shoe comprises an upper 20, a forepart sock lining or innersole member 22, a rear part sock lining 24, a full length platform soleunit 26, a wrapper 28 for the forepart of the platform unit, a short outsole 30, and a heel 32. 20 is cut to size in its forepart plus only a narrow As shown in Fig. l, the upper seam allowance 34 (this allowance being the porcut with relatively wide marginal extensions 38. -The illustrated pper 20 is also cut away at its toe and heel ends, as indicated at 40 and 42, respectively, thereby adapting it for use in making a shoe of. the open-toe and open-heel style. Preferably, the forepart sock lining member 22 and the rear part sock lining 24 are each made of thin fabric, :uch as canvas. The forepart sock lining 22 is cut to last bottom size plus a narrow seam allowance. The platform wrapper 28 consists of a strip-which is out long enough to extend around the forepart of the platform sole and wide enough to cover the edge and underlie the margin of the later and to provide a seam allowance for the attachment of the strip to the upper. The upper 20, the forepart sock lining 22 and the wrapper strip 28 are assembled and secured together without the support of a last, as by means of stitches 44 sewn through the seam allowances of these parts. While these parts are still unsupported by a last the shank extensions 38 of the upper are turned inwardly and their marginal portions united in the upturned face-to-face relation shown in Fig. by means of a seam 46 thereby providing preformed, closed covering for the entire ioa-er side of the shank portion of the platform sole 28. It will be noted that the sock lining 22 does not extend rearwardly of the forepart of the upper and will not interfere with the sewing of the seam 46, or the assembling of the platform sole with the upper. With the above-described parts still off the last, the platform sole is assembled with the upper by thrusting the heel end of the sole rearwardly between the rear edge of the sock lining 22 and the forward edges of the united upper extensions 38, so that the forepart of the platform sole underlies the sock lining 22 and the shank portion of the sole overlies the closed upper extensions 38.

The platform sole 26, as illustrated in Fig. 6, is a fabricated unitary structure comprisin a relatively flexible forepart 48 of felt or other suitable cushioning material, and a relatively stiff rear part consisting of upper and lower layers or plies 50 and 52, respectively, of fiberboard or the like, and a metallic shank stiffener 54 which is interposed between the layers 58 and 52. The layers 50 and 52 are firmly secured together, as by means of cement, and the forward portions of these layers overlap and are secured, by cement or otherwise, to the rear portion of the felt fore-' part piece 48. For use in an open-heel shoe, as illustrated, an edge binding 56 is applied to the heel portion of the above-described platform unit.

Before the platform sole unit 26 is assembled with the upper and sock lining assembly, coatings of cement are applied to the upper side of the forepart and the lower side of the shank portion of the platform sole, to the lower side of the forepart sock lining and to the upper surface of the closed upper extensions 38. After the platform sole has been properly positioned with respect to the upper, a last is slipped into the shoe. The forepart of the platform sole, is then pounded down until it becomes securely united by the cement to the sock lining and the closed upper extensions 38 are pressed or pounded against the platform sole to cause them to be smoothly bonded thereto by the Cement is then applied to the wrapping strip and to the edge and the lowe marginal surface of the forepart of the platform sole andthe wrapping strip is folded over these portions of the platform sole and secured thereto by means of the cement. The shoe now appears as shown in Fig. 7, the entire shank portion of the platform sole being covered by means of the extensions 38 of the upper which are closed or secured together by the seam 46.

To complete the shoe it is necessary only to attach the short or half'length outsole 30 and the heel I2 andthen apply the rear part sock lining 24 as will now be described. The outsole 30, which is preferably made of leather, is shaped to fit the forepart of the shoe without extending any substantial distance into the shank portion of on the shoe bottom and on the outsole will be cement.

allowed to dry and subsequently they will be activated by means of a solvent and the outsole will be attached by the use of a cement sole attaching press in the conventional manner. After the last has been removed from the shoe the heel 32 may be attached by means of nails driven through the platform sole from the inside of the shoe. Finally the rear part sock lining 24 is cemented in place upon the upper side of the platform sole, this lining covering the heel and shank portions of the sole and extending far enough into the forepart to provide a substantial width of overlap upon the forepart sock lining 22.

Instead of stitching a wrapping strip to the upper to provide an edge covering for the forepart of the platform sole, the upper may be cut with a suflicient width of marginal allowance in its forepart to provide such a covering as an integral extension of the upper. The forepart platform edge covering may properly be considered to be an extension of the upper whether it is formed integrally therewith or is cut as a separate piece and later united with the upper by stitching.

It will be seen that by making the shoe as herein shown and described the use of sole leather in the shank and heel portions of the shoe bottom is avoided. Because of this and the fact that no lasting machinery or hand lasting operations are required, substantial savings are effected in the cost of manufacturing the shoe. The shoe, having a high arch and a conventional high heel, is more attractive and stylish and presents a more refined and dressy appearance than conventional shoes of the platform or so-called casual type and is suitable for more general wear than such shoes as ordinarily constructed. Moreover, by employing integral extensions of the upper which sweep downwardly in uninterrupted curves over the edges and the bottom of the shank portion of the platform sole and are closed by a central seam beneath the sole, a distinctive and exceptionally neat and trim appearance is imparted to the shoe.

Having described my invention, what I claim as new and desire to secure by Letters Patent of the United States is:

1. That improvement in the manufacture of platform shoes which consists in providing an upper and innersole assembly in which the upper has a marginal forepart extension and marginal extensions at opposite sides of its shank portion and the innersole is secured to the upper inwardly of said forepart extension, turning said shank extensions inwardly to bring their free edges into meeting relation and securing said meeting edges together to provide a closed covering for the shank portion of a platform sole, positioning a platform sole with its forepart beneath said innersole and its shank portion above said closed covering while the shoe is unsupported by a last,

thereafter inserting a last in the shoe, laying platform shoes which consists in providing an upper cut to size plus only a marginal seam allowance in its forepart and having marginal extensions at opposite sides of its shank portion, stitching an innersole and a platform edge wrapper to the forepart only of said upper, securing together the lateral edges of said marginal shank extensions to provide a closed covering for the shank portion of a platform sole, positioning a platform sole beneath said innersole and above said closed covering, the shoe being unsupported by a last while all of said operations are being performed, thereafter inserting a last in the shoe, folding said wrapper over the edge of the forepart of the platform sole and securing it to the lower side of said sole, securing a short outsole upon the forepart of the shoe with the rear extremity of the outsole located to leave exposed to view substantially all of said closed platform shank covering, and attaching a heel to the shoe.

3. That improvement in the manufacture of platform shoes which consists in providing an upper out without lasting allowance in its forepart and having marginal extensions at opposite sides of its waist or shank portion, stitching a forepart sock lining and a platform edge wrapper to the forepart of the upper, uniting the free lateral margins of said upper extensions by a seam sewn,

from the inside of the shoe to provide a preformed platform shank covering, assembling a platform see with the shoe by entering the rear of said sole between the rear edge of said sock lining and the forward edge of said shank covering and positioning said sole with its shank portion overlying said covering and its forepart underlying said sock lining, folding said wrapper over the edge and securing it to the lower side of. the forepart of said sole, attaching a short outsole to the forepart and a heel to the rear part of said sole, and securing a rear part sock lining to the heel and shank portions of said sole.

4. That improvement in the manufacture of platform shoes which consists in providing an upper cut to size plus only a marginal seam allowance in its forepart and having integral marginal extensions at opposite sides of its shank portion, stitching to said seam allowance a sock lining and a platform edge wrapper, stitching together the lateral edges of said marginal shank extensions to provide a closed covering for the shank portion of a platform sole, inserting a platform sole heel end first between the rear edge of said sock lining and the forward edge of said closed covering and positioningsaid sole with its forepart underlying the sock'lining' and its shank portion overlying said closed covering, the shoe being unsupported by a last while all of said operations are being performed, inserting a last in the shoe, securing said platform sole to said sock lining and to said covering, folding said wrapper over the edge of said platform sole and'securing the wrapper in overlapping relation upon the lower side of said sole, securing a short outsole to the forepart of said platform sole with the rear 1 shoes which consists in providing an upper and innersole assembly in which the upper has marginal extensions at opposite sides of its shank portion and the innersole is secured to the upper only in the forepart of the assembly, turning said shank extensions inwardly to bring their free edges into meeting relation and securing said meeting edges together, positioning a sole beneath said innersole and above said shank extensions so that the opposite edges and the lower side of said sole will be covered by said shank extensions, securing said sole to said parts, and attaching a heel to said sole.

6. A platform shoecomprising an innersole, a platform sole beneath said innersole, an upper secured to said innersole and having lower marginal extensions at opposite sides of its waist portion covering the opposite edges and the lower side of the shank portion of said platform $016, a wrapper strip secured to the upper and covering the edge of the forepart of said platform sole, a

heel secured to the rear of the platform sole, and a short outsole secured to the forepart of the platform sole, the rear extremity of said outsole I shank portion of the shoe bottom, a sock lining I I secured to the lower margin of the upper in the forepart of the shoe, 2. full length platform sole having its forepart beneath said sock lining and its shank portion above said shank extensions of the upper, a wrapper strip secured to the lower margin of the upper and covering the edge of said platform sole in the forepart of the shoe, a short outsole secured to and underlying the forepart and said heel, and a wrapper strip secured to said,

upper and covering the edge of the platform sole forwardly of the shank portion of the shoe to produce a platform effect in the forepart of the shoe.

9. A platform shoe comprising a full length platform sole, an upper having lower marginal extensions secured together and constituting a closed covering for the edges and the lower side of the shank portion of said sole, a. sock lining stitched to the upper and secured to the upper side of said sole, a wrapper strip stitched to the upper and covering the edge of said sole forwardly of said closed shank covering, a short outsole attached to the forepart of said platform sole and terminating rearwardly substantially at the junction of theforepart and shank portions of the. shoe, and a heel attached to said platform sole rearwardly of said closed shank covering.

10. A platform shoe comprising an upper having lower marginal extensions at opposite sides of its waist or shank portion, a forepart sock lining stitched to the forepart of the upper, a full length platform sole having the opposite edges and the lower side of its shank portion covered by said upper extensions, a wrapper stitched to the upper and covering the edge of the forepart only of the platform sole, an outsole attached to said platform sole, saidoutsole terminating rearwardly at the forward extremity of the shank portion of the shoe, 9. heel secured to the rear of said platform shoe, and a rear part sock lining overlying the heel and shank portions of the platform sole and overlapping the rear portion of said forepart sock lining.

JAMES DANE CHANDLER. 

